


because i love you

by scribbleface



Series: HSMTMTS [8]
Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: M/M, carlos and seb have a big fight, first ‘i love you’, i’m bad at tagging oops, throwback to hoco
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-17
Updated: 2020-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-24 22:55:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,417
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22285819
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scribbleface/pseuds/scribbleface
Summary: “Carlos...?” Seb narrowed his eyes and stopped him in his tracks. “Why are you being weird?”“Okay, don’t be mad.” Carlos pleaded, taking Seb’s hands in his and clasping then together pleadingly. “I may have signed you up for a choir solo.”
Relationships: Seb Matthew-Smith/Carlos Rodriguez
Series: HSMTMTS [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1548121
Comments: 8
Kudos: 77





	because i love you

Carlos knew he shouldn’t have done it. He regretted it as soon as he wrote Seb’s name across the sign up sheet with the green pen he always carried with him. His good luck charm. He needed that luck right about now. 

It’s not exactly Carlos’ fault, okay? Seb seemed so enthusiastic at the mere thought of auditioning for a solo in the choir concert. His eyes were bright and he was beaming as he told Carlos all about it; he had gotten a informational packet, talked to Miss Jenn, and even got some tips from a few of the upperclassmen. That didn’t stop Seb from doubting himself. 

“I’m just not sure if I should do it for real.” Seb sighed, fiddling with a loose thread on his jacket. “It seemed like a good idea in theory but there are so many good singers, I doubt I’d actually get a solo if I tried out.”

“But it’s worth it, Seb! It’s better to try and fail than dwell on what could’ve been.” Carlos replied with a pointed expression, letting go of Seb’s hand as they arrived at his locker. 

“I don’t know..” Seb huffed, his eyes going wide as the bell rang. “That’s my cue! See you at lunch, love.” He squeezed Carlos’ arm and gave him a quick peck on the cheek before making his way down the hall, a dopey grin on his lips. 

Carlos put away his jacket and shut his locker, jiggling the lock to make sure it was, in fact, locked. He started down the hallway, popping in a headphone as he made his way to English until something caught his eye, causing him to halt in front of the auditorium doors, his yellow sneakers squeaking against the tiles.

A sign up sheet for the choir concert. How convenient. Carlos glanced around the hall, checking to see if anyone he knew was around. The coast was clear. He brought his backpack up in front of him, retrieving his lucky green pen from his pencil case. Biting his lip, Carlos wrote neatly on the second page: ‘Seb Matthew-Smith - Solo’. Carlos considered scribbling out the name as soon as he wrote it down. Maybe Seb wouldn’t even be called down. Maybe he’d just miss the audition and never find out and Carlos could just take this to the grave. Yeah, that’s it. There was no reason to freak out. 

Until, there was.

Carlos and Seb were heading down the hall, hands intertwined as they made their way towards the main entrance. Seb hadn’t brought up the sign up sheet or the choir concert in general which calmed Carlos down significantly. Carlos was about to open his mouth to confess what he had done but someone beat him to it.

“Seb!” Miss Jenn’s cheery voice echoed through the hall, followed by the tapping of her heels against the floor. Carlos felt his heart drop as they turned to face her, being met with the sight of Miss Jenn holding a messy stack of papers that seemed to overflow in her arms. “I’m so glad you decided to sign up for the choir auditions! I’m so proud that you’re going for a solo, you’re gonna get it for sure.” She patted him on the shoulder before hurrying off to Mr. Mazzara, engaging in a strangely animated conversation as they disappeared into her office.

“That was weird.” Seb said with knitted brows, adjusting the straps of his bag on his shoulders. 

“What? What was weird?” Carlos looked anywhere but at his boyfriend, trying to keep his voice from going any higher than it already was. He was definitely gonna have to tell him now.

“I didn’t sign up for the choir concert.” Seb’s hand found Carlos’ and gave it a gentle squeeze as they continued down the hall. Carlos stayed weirdly silent, his eyes trained on the floor and his lips pursed. “Carlos...?” Seb narrowed his eyes and stopped him in his tracks. “Why are you being weird?”

“Okay, don’t be mad.” Carlos pleaded, taking Seb’s hands in his and clasping then together pleadingly. “I may have signed you up for a choir solo.”

“What?” Seb asked in an incredulous tone, his eyes wide as he pulled his hands away from the other boy’s grip. “Why would you do that?”

“You seemed so excited and I just wanted to..I dunno..? Help a little?”

“By signing me up without telling me?” Seb stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets and took a deep breath. “I gotta go home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Seb didn’t spare him a glance as he disappeared through the double doors, leaving Carlos alone in the hallway. Seeing Seb’s figure walk away made Carlos’ heart sink. They always walked home together. 

He shook it off and pushed through the doors, the brisk autumn air hitting his face as he made his way into the courtyard. He needed to apologize to Seb; he knew that much. 

/////

The next morning, Carlos awoke to see Seb hadn’t answered his texts from last night, merely asking if they could talk so Carlos could apologize. They had never gotten in such a severe disagreement; it scared Carlos. 

Any time he got a notification he jumped to answer it, hoping deep down that it might be Seb, agreeing to atleast hearing him out. It never was.

Carlos made his way to school alone, chatting idly with Gina and EJ about who-knows-what. He tuned out his friends, scanning the hall for a certain blonde haired boy. Carlos couldn’t hide the way he lit up when he spotted Seb chatting with Nini and Ashlyn at the latter’s locker, a bright smile on his face that made Carlos melt. That smile immediately melted into an unreadable expression when the two boys locked eyes, caught in a brief staring match. Ashlyn seemed to ask Seb a question, who responded with something short and simple. It only took a second for Ashlyn to make her way over to Carlos, much to Seb’s loud and obvious protests. 

“Trouble in paradise?” Ashlyn said with an apologetic smile, wrapping her arms around Gina and resting her chin on their shoulder as she spoke. 

“It’s my fault.” Carlos sighed, averting his gaze to the spot where Seb and Nini no longer stood. “I signed Seb up for the choir solo auditions without him knowing and now he’s, understandably, angry with me.”

“He’s not exactly angry,” Ashlyn piped up. “More confused and just a bit upset that you went behind his back.” Ashlyn pursed her lips and glanced away. 

“Well, I keep trying to apologize but he’s just ignoring my texts and now he won’t even look at me.” Carlos muttered, running a hand through his hair.

“Give him some time. He’ll come around.” Ashlyn said softly, a knowing glint in her eye as she walked off, the bell ringing in Carlos’ ears, signifying the start of classes. 

Carlos became hopeful on his way to lunch. He and Seb had always sat next to eachother, even when they had little disagreements. He entered the lunchroom and put his backpack down, his smile morphing into a tight lipped frown as he took in the empty seat besides him. No Seb. His jacket or backpack wasn’t even there. Was he seriously not even gonna sit with him?

Carlos glanced around the lunchroom, hoping to see a flash of blonde hair or a beige jacket. There was nothing. 

Instead of heading to get a lunch, Carlos made a beeline to his table, slinging his bag over his shoulder and pushing past the double doors. As he walked through the barren halls, he recalled a conversation he and Seb had shortly after homecoming.

Carlos peeked through the door of the bomb shelter, lighting up when he saw Seb. “Hey, what are you doing here?” He slipped through the door and pulled up a seat next to the blonde boy, wincing at the way it squeaked against the floor. 

“How’d you know I was here?”

“I didn’t.” Carlos shot him a sheepish smile. “This was like, the third place I looked.”

“Oh, okay.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I just didn’t expect someone to come looking for me. I usually come here to be alone.”

“Oh.” Carlos pursed his lips and glanced away. “I could leave if you—“ Carlos cut himself off with a peep as Seb’s hand found his, the other boy’s eyes almost wild.

“No, no, no! You can stay. I like being around you.”

Carlos didn’t really know how to respond to that. He merely intertwined their fingers and leaned forward, giving Seb a soft peck. “Cool.”

“Okay..Cool.” Seb echoed with a breathless laugh.

Carlos knew where he could find Seb. 

He raced to the bomb shelter, nearly colliding with the door as he slid to a stop. He could hear the piano ringing through the air; it was muffled but definitely still there. He gripped the strap of his bag tightly with one hand and twisted the doorknob with the other, being greeted with a tune he didn’t recognize. His back was towards the door but Carlos could tell he was smiling by the way he sang. His knees went weak when the music faded, making his presence known as he closed the door; Seb jumped at the noise.

Blue eyes met brown and it was like the world stopped. Seb’s smile contorted into a surprised frown. “Hi.”

“Hey.” Carlos said, taking a few steps closer. “You weren’t at lunch.”

“You know I come here to be alone.” Seb shrugged, turning back to the piano.

“I know.” Carlos came up behind the other boy and opted for standing, swallowing thickly when Seb actually scooted over, allowing Carlos to sit with him. 

Carlos hesitantly sat beside him, watching Seb’s hands mime playing a song against the keys. “I’m sorry I signed you up for the choir solo.”

“That’s not why I’m mad.”

“Then why are you mad?” 

Seb rose from the bench and gathered his things, letting out a deep breath. “I’m mad because you didn’t tell me. It would’ve almost been funny if you had atleast told me but I know you weren’t planning to.”

“I swear I was—“

“Don’t lie.” Seb said with furrowed brows, his expression staying the same even as Carlos rose from the bench and started towards him. “You were just gonna keep it to yourself and that hurt. You aren’t sorry you did it. You’re sorry you got caught.” He spat, his arms crossed along his chest.

“I only did it because I believed in you. You were thinking about signing up and I knew you wouldn’t because you thought you weren’t good enough but I know you’re good enough, Seb! You could literally do anything and succeed and that is why I’m so in love with you.” Seb opened his mouth to speak but Carlos raised his hand, cutting him off as he continued to explain. “I know you’re mad and that’s more than okay. I’d be mad if I were you. I’m sorry I went behind your back and I’ll never do it again; I just wish you could see yourself how I see you! You’re so talented it’s crazy! I just want you to put yourself out there! You have the voice of an angel and if the stupid choir director doesn’t see that then they must be tone deaf.” Carlos couldn’t help but grin as a small smile appeared on the other boy’s face.

“Carlos..”

“What?” Carlos asked, his eyes wide. He was waiting for Seb to reject his awful apology, expecting him to storm out of the room or break up with him or something. 

“I love you too.”

“What?” Carlos croaked out, suddenly feeling dizzy. 

“You said you loved me.” Seb suddenly looked worried. “Did you, uh, not mean it?”

“No, I meant it! Of course, I meant it, Seb.” Carlos rushed over to him and intertwined their hands. “I love you so much.” It felt good to say out loud.

“I love you too.” Seb said, a wide grin on his face. “And, I accept your apology.” He added, giving Carlos a quick kiss on his cheek.

“Thank you.”

Seb hummed in acknowledgment before fiddling with the other boy’s fingers. “Maybe I’ll actually go to the try outs.”

“Really?”

“Only if you’ll be there for moral support?”

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“And that’s why, I love you.” Seb said with a shy smile, sticking out his tongue when Carlos jokingly nudged him. “Oh, wanna hear what I was thinking of auditioning with?”

“Of course!” Carlos grinned, steering Seb over to the piano. He leaned against the top of the piano, his eyes trained on the other boy intensely. 

“I’m a little late now,” Seb smirked, cracking his knuckles. “But I actually learned this song to try help me say that I love you.. You just beat me to it.” Seb inhaled deeply and let his fingers dance along the keys, his eyes fluttering shut as he truly got into the moment.

Carlos recognized the tune immediately, his breath hitching as Seb sang. This definitely wasn’t what he was playing before.

“It’s great to be in love on Valentine’s day..” Seb began, a nervous smile creeping onto his lips. 

Carlos felt tears fill his eyes. It was their song; the slow dance at homecoming. 

Carlos stared at Seb, the rest of the world melting away as he focused on his voice. He was completely infatuated with the other boy. 

The final key rang out and Seb opened his eyes, laughing softly at Carlos’ star struck expression. “It feels a bit more appropriate to sing that know that we know we...ya know...”

“Love eachother.” Carlos finished for him, reaching over the piano to give him a slow kiss. 

“Yeah.” Seb mumbled, happily kissing back. 

Seb rose from the bench once again and Carlos was quick to go over to him, groaning when the bell rang. “I kinda forgot we were in school.” He muttered, his nose scrunched. 

“Me too.” Seb ran a hand through his hair before intertwining his hand with Carlos’, rubbing soft circles into his skin. “I’ll see you after school?”

Carlos nodded, giving his hand a squeeze before picking up his bag and heading to the door. As he reached out for the knob, he spun around, not even hesitating when he beamed at Seb and said, “I love you!” before walking to class.


End file.
